Innocent Smoothies

Brand Storytelling

The Story We're Trying to Tell

Rich Adam and John went on a snowboarding trip in 1990 that seemed like any other where they talked about their dreams of starting a business, but in this particular trip they decided it was time to make their dreams become reality for them. They came up with a idea to sell smoothies at a London festival, leaving two buckets for people to throw their empty cups in; one labeled yes and once labeled no, both referring to whether they should quit their jobs and start selling smoothies. With more cups in the yes bucket at the end of the day, they put in their notice to their jobs the next day and started working out their dreams.

What Happened:

Over the years, they added employees, they came to the brink of bankruptcy due to donating too much to charities, expanded to a shed in Ireland(and later further), and developed their brand of innocence. Themselves as characters in their company have done everything from organizing charitable funds for the company, even getting rid of carpet to be replaced with astroturf at one point to show their love for something more natural and simple. They now sell only healthy drinks such as vegetable based ones, juices, fruity waters, and anything that is stripped to the minimum and leads to a healthy lifestyle. They stick with the moto ”Since then[quitting their jobs] we've started making veg pots, juices and kids' drinks, in our quest to make natural, delicious, healthy foods that help people live well and die old.”

How We Go About Story Telling

Over ten years ago, Innocent Smoothies was the first smoothie brand to bring out a “kids range and a breakfast recipe”. One of the secrets of the brand success was ensuring consumers their product in complete consistency. Until today, the basic principles of the company remain the same: to produce smoothie drinks simply made of fresh fruit and juice, with no concentrates. Richard Reed had mastered the art of branding in such a way that makes customer smile through their ‘innocent’ humor. By this, it “secures their custom” which gets their customers spreading the word online and face to face”.

"Tastes Good Does Good!"

As of September 2013, they launched a new strategy which uses the strapline, “Tastes good does good”. Though this, Innocent Smoothies intent to highlight the taste of their products along with the message that 10% of their business’s profit will be given to charity. Above is an ad which shows how one man’s Innocent smoothie purchase reaches all the way to Uganda benefiting a family from being able to purchase a cow to being able to fund for further education which evidently leads to a better life. This campaign was created to draw attention to the fact that not only is Innocent Smoothie is a full of goodness, but it also does others good.

How does this brand story help them to engage with their customers?

The company is able to engage with their customers because their story is personal. They discuss how they were two men with an idea, tested out their idea at a music festival then executed their idea by popular demand. Their story also includes that they were on the verge of bankruptcy. By donating 10% of their profits to charity, the brand shows how far they have come and how they hope to reach out to help others. Customers can enjoy the brand’s associated “innocent” humor, which makes the brand less corporate and more human. It creates a relatable connection between customer and company.

Our Packaging

We want people to Know We're Sustainable!

It might make us sound like a Miss World contestant, but here at innocent, we want to leave things a little bit better than we find them. We strive to do business in a more enlightened way, where we take responsibility for the impact of our business on society and the environment, aiming to move these impacts from negative to neutral or (better still) positive. It's part of our quest to become a truly sustainable business where we have a net positive effect on the world around us. Below you can see our strategy for doing so as well as our performance to date